My first year at WCP I choreographed the show "State Fair". This classic musical follows two love stories through the days of the Iowa State Fair. Not a musical that I knew well, but it was a lot of fun to do. When I did my first WCP show I was very new to the community theater scene and the people involved in the production. My eyes were quickly opened to say the least!! As we cast the show we included personalities very fitting to the state fair, such as the Pig Clown and Cow Clown. The Pig Clown was dressed in baggy pants with suspenders and an oversized Pig head, while the Cow Clown was dressed in a pink & white gingham dress (a la Minnie Pearl) and an oversized Pig head. The Pig Clown also got to carry a festive bouquet of balloons!! The problem was the Pig Clown couldn't breath with the huge pig head on!! My first theater altercation with the head director came when the Pig Clown was complaining about the head and how she couldn't breath. I felt sympathetic towards her as she had tripped at the last rehearsal and fallen on the steps leading to the stage. I voiced a concern about the head and was immediately told by the director that it was none of my business!! I am not prepared when someone yells in my face in public in front of an entire show cast! I left the rehearsal to cool down and the director later apologized for the outburst, but he was tired of hearing about the pig head!!! Lesson learned. Mind my choreography. Got it.. "State Fair" was a great first show full of wonderful songs and dances and the first ever State Fair Singers!! If we just had higher kicks!! Oh, and let's not forget our drunk judge (drunk from saucy mincemeat) played by the iconic Val Lippert!! It's a great State Fair!
My second show at WCP was "The Sound of Music", the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein musical. The key words for the show were: pencils, Gardettos, and Mother Ass, yes Ass. Working with the same musical director and director was a great thing, but when directors disagree, things can get a little ugly. During one such disagreement, the director actually threw a container of pencils at the musical director. Backstage drama. The role of Mother Abbess was taken by a fabulous singer who we later found out really wanted the role of Maria. Now if you don't get the role that you want, either accept the role you are given with a good attitude, or don't take the role. Mother Abbess took the role, but harboured some resentment about the Maria thing. As time went on, it became clear that she was not giving 100% to the part and the singing was suffering. During a rehearsal, the musical director had had enough and proceeded to throw down her Gardettos (a la Naomi Campbell) and head to the stage. Words were exchanged and the problem was solved. I should also share that during this show the musical director and myself experienced an addiction to Gardettos. So much so that at one rehearsal we ate an entire extra big bag of Gardettos. Not realizing how many Gardettos were actually eaten, I suddenly took ill and felt like a brick was in my stomach. I had to leave the rehearsal and go home and vomit (a la Kate Moss). Not a great moment. The best part about "Sound of Music" were the kids who are now grown ups!! They were so fun to work with!!
My next show was the classic "Fiddler on the Roof" complete with the famous bottle dance! I met my dear friend Liza during "State Fair" as he played the Cow Clown, but during "Fiddler" I really got to know Liza and not just critique his frog jumps! Higher frog jumps Cow Clown!! Anyway, the bottle dance is a highlight of the show and the hope is to not drop a bottle during the dance, as they are balanced on the dancers' heads. I started by talking to the dancers about being careful with their bottles, etc... At our first rehearsal, barely five minutes into the rehearsal, I heard a crash as Liza was playing with the bottle and it crashed on the floor!! I immediately yelled for a broom and dustpan. Clean up!!! Then there was the casting of the lead role Tevya. We had three men in line for the role. Each brought something to the part so the decision was tough. However, when one of the men was not picked for the role, he proceeded to call the director and blame the casting on the musical director and the choreographer (me)! He wanted the two of us to know that we did not know what we were doing and we made the wrong choice. It got rather serious when the director had to walk us out to our cars after rehearsals for fear of our safety.. Crazy times!! One of the other potential Tevya's was also calling me after callbacks to see how things went and what the directors were thinking. I had to tell him that we could not discuss that and this phone call was not appropriate. More backstage drama!! At one point during the show I was going to murder all of the papas as they tried to change my choreography and tell me what I had written for them! Not going to happen boys!!
The next show was "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Andrew Lloyd Webber. What a fun show! On and off stage. I think this show could be dubbed the party show. The cast was out of control!! The first issue was casting the female lead Mary Magdelene. The musical director wanted the role and the musical director job also. This can be a tricky road so that was a big decision. We did cast her as Mary, which meant that we had to find a role for another WCP acting staple. Can we say...Lady..by..the..fire??? That's the other female role. Lady by the fire.. Moving on. There were also issues with costumes. The three ladies known as the Soul Girls received their costumes and looked like three Golden Girls, not Soul Girls. Black smocks with black pants. Really?? Really. Trying to change a costume at WCP was like negotiating a nuclear arms situation, so I told the girls to deal and channel both Bea Arthur and the Supremes! Good idea right?? The show was fabulous with great dancing if I do say so myself!!
My final show at WCP was the wonderful hit show "Grease". I was actually not going to do the show, but the new musical director talked me into it! I gave in and said yes. A great decision. The cast was great and we had lots of fun with this one! The show opened with the cast introducing themselves by running across the stage yelling their name. The real fun one was Jan who got Twinkies thrown up to her as she ran past the pit! The "Grease" cast also included a great Buckle friend named Angela Zimmerman. She had great stage energy and danced very well!! Unfortunately, the night the Buckle folks came to see her she was not on stage. I could not figure out where she was, but later found out that she had been on the beach all day in extreme heat and suffered heat stroke!! Poor Angela!!!
I could go on and on about my WCP years, but I truly enjoyed those years! I got to meet and work with many people who are still in my life and will probably meet some new people this summer as I make my return. Thank you all for the memories!! Leg up!!
No comments:
Post a Comment